Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has suggested he may leave out all 12 Tottenham players involved in the World Cup as he voiced his frustration at the situation.
Spurs make the short trip to West London to take on Brentford in the early Boxing Day kick-off (12:30) but Conte is concerned about differing levels of fitness within his squad. He believes those who stayed behind and weren't involved in Qatar are currently a level above those who recently returned.
Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur picked up injuries at the tournament whilst those involved in the World Cup final - Cristian Romero and Hugo Lloris - were already ruled out. But Conte hinted the other players he had in Qatar may also not be deemed ready to play.
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"I am not really happy," Conte said. "In one hand, you are happy because for my club, Tottenham, to have 12 players at the World Cup it means that we are in the right way to try to be competitive and to try to win something.
"But it is normal that when you have so many players play a tournament like this, especially during the season, that now it is not easy because the physical condition is not at the top.
"It is impossible to give them a lot of rest and for sure with the players that didn't play the World Cup and we work for four weeks, now they are in a great physical condition.
"We worked a lot on the tactical aspect and physical aspect. Now they are at a level that is better than the players who finished the World Cup.
"For this reason I think I have to make the best decision for the game against Brentford. On one side I have players who I worked with for four weeks really well and on the other side, I have players who worked at the World Cup and are not at the top at the moment."
If Conte does snub those involved at the World Cup, that will mean Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Ben Davies, Ivan Perisic, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Son Heung-min and Pape Matar Sarr also being left out.
Spurs take on a Brentford side given a Christmas boost after manager Thomas Frank penned a new long-term contract until 2027. On his new contract, Frank said: "The warmth, support and kindness every time I meet a Bees fan has been amazing and it gives me extra energy to continue the work going forward.
"We attacked the Premier League in the first season and we're attacking it in our second season. I'm looking forward to hopefully continuing our progress and creating more magic moments together."
